The Evolution of Weiss
by Berserker Nightwitch
Summary: It’s the year 1827, and Yohji has just found a statue with interesting origins. Now Weiss has to keep a djinn from the hands of his brother, or their world will be destroyed.
1. Finding a Djinn

Warning: Alternate Universe, slightly OOC

Summary: It's the year 1827, and Yohji has just found a statue with interesting origins. Who is Aya, and why does Schwarz want him so badly?

Author's Note: I wasn't feeling very creative when I was trying to come up with names, so just accept that in this, Farfie's real name is Farfarello Jei. Jei is just his last name. Hawari means 'alteration', Kenshiki means 'insight', and Gin means 'silver'.

~*~*~

"It will begin soon."

The red-haired sorceress looked at her employer questioningly. He had always been mysterious, especially when it concerned one or both of her brothers, but he had never said so little.

"They must not find him."

Manx nodded slowly. She did not know how her employer knew it had begun again, but she did know who *they* were and who they must not find. If her brothers were together again, the world would be destroyed.

~*~*~

The blonde man panted as he ran farther into the forest. Yohji Kudou was the president of his newly formed club, and even though the other two members knew him *very* well, being late for their first official get together was unacceptable. 

He was three-quarters through the forest when he fell. He stood up, sputtering. As he turned back to his destination, he noticed a small figure. It was too shiny to be a rock, so he picked it up. Before he could examine it, he remembered why he had been running in the first place. Ten minutes later, he reached a giant waterfall and, behind it, the cave he and his friends had turned into a clubhouse.

"Late again I see. Is anyone surprised?" the dark-haired man asked sarcastically. After pretending to wait for a response, he continued. "No, I didn't think so." Yohji smiled as he took a seat across from his friend, Ken Hidaka. The third member of the group, Omi Tsukiyono, was sitting on a rock on the other side of the room. Yohji smiled again thinking back to his first meeting with the younger men.

Ken and Omi had been best friends from the time Omi was born. When he was ten and Ken was eleven, Omi had been kidnapped. It was later discovered that Omi's uncle had planned the whole thing, but Omi's mother had called in a spy to find her son and then protect the family.

Mr. Kudou and his fifteen-year-old son, Yohji, had immediately moved to the area. Yohji had been shunned by most of the town; they did not approve of spies or bodyguards. Ken and Omi, however, were thrilled to have a new friend. They immediately accepted Yohji into their group. It had been seven years since that first encounter, and the three had become inseparable.

"What is that?" Omi asked, breaking into Yohji's thoughts. Yohji glanced at his hand Omi was pointing at, and realized he was still holding the shiny…thing.

"I don't know. I tripped on it on my way here," he said, examining the object. "Woah…it's a statue, but it looks like it was made out of silver. Why would someone throw out a statue made out of silver?"

"I can't see! What's the statue of?" Ken asked, craning his neck so that he could see without having to get up. Yohji looked at the statue closer.

"It looks like a guy. He's wearing a vest and tight-looking pants. The vest and pants have bits of amethyst in them, and the hair has bits of rubies," Yohji told them.

"It's got a smudge or scratch on it," Omi commented, standing up and starting toward Yohji. Yohji pulled a cloth out of his jacket and began cleaning the statue. As he rubbed the silver, there was a blinding flash of violet light.

When the three men could see again, there was a fourth person in the cave. He had red hair and violet eyes. His open vest matched his eyes perfectly, and his black pants fit tightly until flaring at his calves. He had a wide sash around his waist just lighter than the vest, and he was barefoot. It took them a few moments to notice the katana he held in his right hand.

Once the sword registered in his mind, Omi squeaked and pressed himself against the cave wall. If the red-haired person hadn't been standing in front of the only entrance, he would have left the cave. Ken was leaning forward in his chair, gripping the armrests so tightly that his knuckles were white. Yohji was now standing by his chair looking shocked. He still clutched the statue in his left hand.

"Who are you?" Yohji asked after getting his voice back. The red-haired man looked at him and frowned slightly. He then noticed the statue and sighed.

"Did you find that?" he asked, nodding his head toward the statue. At Yohji's nod, he grunted. "Then I'm…your djinn." Yohji was shocked, but seeing the djinn's face, he refrained from commenting.

"What's your name?" Ken asked a few minutes later, getting bored watching the djinn look around the cave. He looked from the dark-haired man to Yohji. At the blonde's curious look, he answered.

"Aya. Who are you?" The others were slightly startled by his uncaring tone. Omi was the first to recover.

"I'm Omi Tsukiyono. I'm seventeen…in case you wanted to know. That's Ken Hidaka, he's eighteen. The guy with, I'm assuming it's *your*, statue is Yohji Kudou and he's twenty-two. Um…what's your age?" he asked, babbling. The sword was making him nervous, and when he was nervous, he babbled.

"What's the date?" Aya asked.

"Um…July first, 1827," Ken responded. He was curious, too.

"Oh. Then I'm …one thousand, one hundred and ninety-nine," he said, smirking slightly at their shocked expressions. He loved seeing a human's reaction to his age, especially after he turned 1500.

"B-but…" Omi stuttered, "you only look like you're twenty!" Aya shrugged and resumed his study of the cave. When Yohji cleared his throat and asked for an explanation, Aya rolled his eyes. Humans could be so dense sometimes.

"If I was a human I would be twenty."

"If you were a human you would be dead!"

Aya rolled his eyes again. That dark-haired one was not the brightest star in the sky. Of course, humans didn't understand a djinn's aging process. "I'm the equivalent of a twenty-year-old. Well…I'll be twenty in three days." This time, Aya was the shocked one. He hadn't meant to say that last part, those people had no right to know. Besides, the mischievous look in Yohji and Ken's eyes was making him nervous.

~*~*~

"Put that down, Nagi," Schuldich told the telekinetic. Nagi glared at the redheaded telepath, but obeyed. As the table dropped from its position ten feet above the floor, a man in a dark robe entered the room; his is brown eyes flashing with anger from behind his glasses.

"Hey Brad!" Schuldich called from his spot on the couch. He only called the wizard that because it annoyed him to be called by his first name. As expected, Brad answered him with a glare.

"Your brother has been found," he announced.

Nagi groaned. If the couch Schuldich was lounging on hadn't started levitating, the others would not have known how upset he was.

"What's wrong with you?" Schuldich asked. He could find out much easier, but this way was more fun. Besides, Nagi was getting good at keeping the telepath out of his head. "He's not your brother."

"I know. But I read." After receiving two identically confused stares, Nagi continued, "You think I don't know what happened last time you two got together? The country you were on SANK!!! It's now who-knows-how-many miles under water! And then your father and uncle…" Nagi trailed off, but Schuldich knew what he was thinking without having to read his mind. Nagi decided to say it anyway. "Thanks to them, an entire ERA of creatures in EXTINCT!!!"

Schuldich winced as Nagi yelled that. It wasn't because he was embarrassed by it; in fact, the thought of his family being the cause of the death of an entire era amazed him. He winced because, as Nagi yelled, the couch had been rising. When he had screamed the final word, Schuldich's head hit the ceiling…almost 30 feet above the floor. "NAGI!!!!!! Put me DOWN!!!"

At Schuldich's bellowed protest, Nagi looked up and, his concentration broken, dropped the couch suddenly. Schuldich shape-shifted into a lynx and jumped off the couch. He landed with an angered growl and stalked out of the room.

He started down the hall; the door clicking closed behind him. So…he's been found. Good. Schuldich's thoughts were interrupted by a hysterical giggle and a crash. More giggling followed the crash, and Schuldich headed to the sound to investigate. The noise was coming from the kitchen, or, more specifically, the man standing in the kitchen.

The man was almost transparent and wearing an eye patch. His white hair was cut close to his head, and his visible eye was a glowing yellow color. In his hand was a large knife that he was repeatedly stabbing into the table.

"Hello Farfarello," Schuldich greeted as he returned to his normal form. The white-haired man looked at Schuldich, still grinning crazily. Farfarello was possibly the strangest member of their group. He was a half-ghost/half-demon certified psychopath. He also loved being hurt…and hurting others. No one really knew what had happened in his past, but it had turned him into a psychotic masochist. He would help find Aya.

~*~*~

"And that's a chair we found back here! The waterfall had carved it when we found it. That's a pot of flowers, those are paintings we made to make it brighter in here…" Aya rolled his eyes. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, especially when Ken was talking. The dark-haired youth was currently running around the cave, explaining every pebble and speck of water to the djinn.

Ken was jumping around the cave, pointing at various objects. Yohji had settled against the wall of the cave, watching everything with observant eyes. Omi had finally gotten over his fear of the djinn and was sitting next to him on the couch.

These are strange people. Aya thought, watching the other three. They aren't making any demands, or asking many stupid questions. They just want to show me everything they find valuable. Most of Aya's previous masters had asked for riches or immortality the moment Aya had said the word 'djinn'.

"Helloo? Earth to Aya! What's going on up there?" Yohji asked, tapping Aya's forehead. Aya flinched slightly before looking up. Seeing the concern on Yohji's face, he smiled reassuringly.

"Sorry, Master. Were you saying something?" Aya asked. He hated saying 'master', and being polite to a selfish human, but that was one of the MANY downsides to being a djinn. He thought about how nice it would be to be a normal human, then mentally shook his head. It would only happen if someone aside from him was holding his statue and wished for him to be free.

"Okay, first of all, that 'master' thing has got to go. Call me Yohji, or Hey You! I'm really not that picky. Second, talk to me the way you want to," Yohji told him. Seeing Aya's blank expression, he explained. "You have this I'm-only-doing-this-because-I-have-to look on your face. If you want to yell at me, go ahead. Just know that I'll probably yell back. Third, well, I can't remember that right now. Fourth, do you not like to be touched or something? Fifth, no I wasn't saying anything, you just had a faraway look on your face."

Aya's head was swimming. That was a lot of information to try and process. Deciding that it would be best to give Yohji a real answer instead of his usual nod and grunt, he began. "Okay…Yohji. I don't like having to be polite to people, I HATE to be touched, and I was just thinking about things." Yohji nodded once, then smiled. It had surprised him to have Aya give him a real answer, but surprises weren't necessarily bad, right?

"And that's the waterfall, oh wait! You knew that. Sorry," Ken continued to ramble, oblivious to the fact that Omi was the only person listening. Two hours later, Yohji had to interrupt his friend.

"Ah…Ken? If you and Omi don't want your dads to send out a search party then we'd better get home. And how are we going to explain Aya? If that town can't handle a spy, I don't know what they'll do about a dji-" Yohji cut himself off when he noticed that Aya had disappeared. "Where?"

"I don't know," Ken said, correctly guessing what the questioning was. "He was there, and then…he wasn't."

"I saw a few purple lights floating to the statue when he vanished," Omi told them. Yohji picked up the statue from where he had placed it earlier. When he looked at it, the statue's eyes gleamed purple for a moment.

"I guess he's in there," Yohji said after the statue's eyes returned to silver. "Well, now that that's settled, let's go home." Yohji led the way, putting the statue in his pocket.

~*~*~

At that same time, two shadowy figures entered the forest. One was a teenage girl with dark hair. Nothing else could be seen through her black cloak. Her companion was a large, dark gray, female wolf. The moon illuminated the wolf's green eyes.

"Why again did we have to come to this place?" The girl asked. The wolf grinned at her. "Hawari? Answer me!" The wolf shook her head slightly.

"Calm down Kenshiki," the wolf told her. "I was checking to make sure no one could hear us. This place is called Ookami Forest, and we're here because there are demons here, remember?"

"Oh yeah!" Kenshiki exclaimed, grinning. "So…when are we stopping? I'm hungry!" While she was saying that, Hawari had been sniffing various plants and trees.

"You should have eaten more at breakfast," she told her friend, continuing to explore. Kenshiki pouted slightly before sighing and following the wolf farther into the forest. "We'll camp here tonight," Hawari announced when they came across a waterfall.

"Here?!?" Kenshiki shrieked. "It's wet, and open, and cold, and…do we have to?" Hawari grinned at her again and nodded her head.

Just as Kenshiki was about to start whining again, Hawari began to change. Here gray fur lightened to a snow-white color, her legs lengthened and her tail shortened. When the change was complete, instead of a gray wolf, there was an average sized, teenage girl with white hair. She was wearing a gray cloak that matched the fur she had traded for darkly tanned skin. Under the cloak, she wore tight gray pants and black boots. Her black top looked like a strip of cloth sewn together at the front, and her eyes were still the wolf's golden green.

"Yes, we have to," the girl told Kenshiki. "This is the farthest place from town, and if we get closer people will be able to sense us. Imagine those fools' reactions to a fire-mage and a shape-shifter. We would be dead by morning. Besides, we won't be outside." Hawari walked behind the waterfall, and after a few seconds, Kenshiki followed. As soon as she stepped into the cave, Hawari's nose began twitching.

"What's wrong?" Kenshiki asked, seeing her friend's behavior. Hawari turned to look at her, nose still twitching.

"Can't you feel it?"

Now that Hawari mentioned it, Kenshiki did feel something strange. The air was more energized inside the cave, and something had happened not long before they had arrived. The air felt almost…pure. As if… "Someone found a djinn!"

Hawari nodded, smiling at her friend's excitement. Kenshiki had been interested in djinns even when Hawari had first met her fourteen years before. If what Hawari could sense in the air was true, her friend would soon be meeting, and possibly fighting, at least one djinn.

~*~*~

"And then all three of you just disappear for hours on end, not caring that their families would be worried sick when they didn't return at dark! How could you be so careless? I'm supposed to protect those families, and my own son almost gives them heart attacks!" Yohji rolled his eyes as his father continued to lecture him. True, they shouldn't have stayed out so late, but Omi's uncle Reiji was in need of something like that. The man forgot he even had a nephew most of the time, and the only time he had shown any concern for Omi at all was when Omi had been 'kidnapped' seven years earlier. Yohji, Ken, and Omi knew he had set the whole thing up to get sympathy from the rest of the town, so he had had to act upset and worried about the ten-year-old. "What do you have to say for yourself?!?"

"Um…sorry, it won't happen again," Yohji responded when he realized he had been asked a question. He looked at his father's face to see how much trouble he was in for ignoring his father again, and was shocked to find the spy laughing. "What…why are you laughing?"

"You…you didn't look sorry at all," the spy continued to laugh at his son's sullen expression. "Just don't do it again. Go ahead and eat something, then go to your room," he said after he finished laughing. Yohji left, his face red with embarrassment. 

"I was being laughed at!" he muttered to himself. "I'm glad he's not mad at me, though." Yohji had reached the kitchen and began rummaging through the cabinets. Within a minute, he had emptied half the kitchen onto the table in the center of the room, and gotten bored. "I wish someone was here!"

With a flash of light, like a smaller version of the flash earlier that day, Aya appeared in front of him. "Be careful what you say around me," he told the surprised blonde. "Don't worry, I won't count that one against you."

"Oh, okay…thanks," Yohji said to the djinn. "Want something to eat?" Aya nodded and grabbed two rolls. After twenty minutes, the djinn still hadn't even slowed down. "When was the last time you ate?" Yohji asked. Aya shrugged and swallowed.

"I don't know. Probably about 300 years ago," he answered as he grabbed more food. Yohji was shocked. Well he thought, It certainly explains how thin he is, but how is he still alive? As if reading his mind, Aya began talking again. "Staying in that statue keeps me from starving, but that doesn't mean I don't get hungry. I can only come in and out of the statue as I please when I have a master that doesn't keep me in there. I haven't had a nice master in 300 years, though, so…"

Yohji was, yet again, shocked. Not only was that a long time without food, but that was the most the djinn had said at one time since that morning. "Well," he said, "feel free to go in and out, stay in, or stay out. I just ask that if you go back and forth, try not to let too many people see you." Aya nodded his consent before returning his attention to the food.

~*~*~

The dark-haired man opened his eyes abruptly. He pulled on his glasses and ran to the company room. He knew for a fact that the others would be in there. "We can't take the djinn," he announced as he entered the room. A large, green-eyed cat looked up at him.

Why not? Could something bad happen? Brad Crawford heard the almost purred words in his head, and knew that Schuldich was not really listening to him yet. Get out of my head Schuldich. And yes, if we go after your brother today, you and Farfarello will be killed. Nagi and I will die in a few days. 

The lynx's eyes widened and he changed back into his human form. "How? Last week you said we'd be fine."

"Last week I didn't know a demon-killer and a werewolf would be coming here. I can't see what they look like, but they must be powerful. Only highly dangerous and well-trained people can keep me from seeing them. These two are most likely both.

~*~*~

"AAHHHH!!!!!!"

Hawari lifted her head quickly, green eyes scanning the trees Kenshiki had disappeared into earlier. When another scream broke the silence of the morning Hawari moved two feet to the left. Just as she laid back down a dark-clad figure landed on her recently vacated spot. "Why didn't you come looking for me?" Kenshiki demanded, water forming a puddle around her.

"I knew you would be fine," Hawari said, stretching lazily. "Besides, the only thing even half as dangerous as you in this forest is me. Since I have no intention of attacking you, you're as safe as anyone can be this close to a town."

"But what if I had been fighting a demon?"

"You weren't. Besides, if you had been fighting a demon you wouldn't have shrieked like that. You and I both know that that would have attracted every demon within five miles of here. …By the way, why were you screaming?"

Kenshiki blushed but answered, "I fell into the stream." Hawari raised her eyebrows slightly. "It was cold!!" Kenshiki defended herself. Hawari laughed slightly.

"Of course it was baka! It's not even dawn yet, this is mid-autumn, and the stream is flowing from the mountains." Kenshiki opened her mouth to call out a retort, but no sound came out. Hawari turned to see what had gotten her friend's attention so completely and saw a group of people walking toward them holding torches. "Uh-oh, this could mean trouble. Kenshiki, if anyone asks, I'm your dog," Hawari cautioned as she changed form.

~*~*~

Omi woke that morning to the sound of pebbles hitting his window. He considered ignoring it, but Ken didn't seem to know how to stop; Omi knew he would just throw harder. He groaned and pushed himself out of the bed. He stumbled to the window and pushed it open while Ken was grabbing a new batch of pebbles.

"Ken, stop! I-OUCH! I'm awake," Omi whispered, whimpering slightly when a pebble hit him in the forehead. Ken grinned and dropped the left over rocks. "I'll be out in a second." Omi changed and climbed out the window in record time. "Where's Yohji?" He asked as they left the Takatori courtyard.

"We have to go to him today." At Omi's questioning look, Ken explained, "He got in trouble for 'keeping us out all night'. Aya showed up in my room last night and said we should go up to his door to get him. They've got a point; it's kind of useless to try to sneak into a spy's house." Ken knocked on the door when they reached Yohji's house.

A tall man with dark-blonde hair opened the door. He looked like an older, blue-eyed version of Yohji. His all-black suit was the one he wore when he was on-duty.

"Hi Mr. Kudou!" Omi said after a moment of silence. The older man smiled and let them inside.

"Are the three of you actually going to let me know when you're leaving? I'm honored! And slightly shocked. Yohji's in his room; most likely bored stiff."

"Thanks Mr. Kudou, we'll be back by dark," Omi promised as he followed Ken down the hall. When they entered the room, they saw Yohji standing next to his bed, a look of awe on his face. The reason for that expression sat across the room. Sort of.

Aya was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed and his head bent forward. What had amazed Yohji was that Aya was not sitting on the floor, but he was floating, his chin was just above Yohji's head.

"Woah…" Ken breathed. "How long has he been like that?"

"Probably about an hour. He said he was getting tired; I guess this is how he sleeps," Yohji responded, still staring at the redhead. "Should we wake him up?"

"What other choice do we have? Tie a string to him and pull him around?" Ken answered sarcastically. Yohji looked at the djinn speculatively. Ken saw the look and somehow knew how the djinn would respond to that. He was struck by an image of Yohji with a black eye and an angry Aya, rubbing his fist. "Nevermind. We'll have to wake him up. Unless of course you know some other way to get him into the statue or don't mind your dad seeing him."

"My dad won't mind, it's the rest of this town I'm not sure of." Yohji moved toward the djinn and called his name softly. "Aya? Aya, wake up." The redhead opened his eyes, looked around, and closed them.

"Why?" he mumbled.

"Because we want to leave through the door, and you'll attract a lot of attention like that," Yohji replied. Aya yawned, but kept his eyes closed. With a slight movement of his fingers, his clothing changed to loose black pants and a large cream-colored shirt. He was still barefoot.

"Better?" he asked around another yawn. Yohji sighed.

"We still can't leave," he told the djinn. Aya opened one eye sleepily. "You're still floating. People don't float," Yohji reminded him, answering the unspoken question. He was about to continue when Aya suddenly dropped. Yohji threw his arms out reflexively and caught the djinn. Aya murmured something and Yohji realized he had already fallen back to sleep. "Wish I could fall asleep that easily."

The group headed back into the living room and toward the front door. They passed Yohji's father on their way through the kitchen. "Hi again, Mr. Kudou!" Omi called. The spy quirked his eyebrows at the pale figure in his son's arms, but said nothing. "Bye Mr. Kudou!"

"Goodbye. Oh, and Yohji?" the man called when he found his voice. Yohji turned and looked at his father questioningly. "We'll be having a talk when you get back." Yohji nodded and followed his friends out the door and into the forest.

"Ow! It's too dark!"

"You should have brought a light!"

"Would you two hush! If you keep talking and yelling so loud you're going to wake Aya up." Yohji could just make out the glares his friends were sending his way. Well it's true he told himself. They ARE being too loud. 

He didn't have to worry much longer since Aya woke up on his own a few minutes later. The djinn created torches-already lit-for the humans and the walk continued. When they reached their destination, they saw a girl standing outside their waterfall/hide-out. Her left hand was buried in the gray fur of the wolf standing next to her, and her right arm was hovering over the hilt of the sword stuck in her belt. The girl didn't look to be much older than Ken, but Yohji knew that looks could be deceiving. Aya surprised everyone by being the first to speak.

"Hello Hawari," he greeted, looking at the wolf. The girl next to it gasped slightly. "You've recreated your life since the last time we met, I'm glad." He finally looked at the girl. Her blonde-brown was pulled back in a long ponytail and her blue eyes were wide in confusion. She wore a floor-length black cape over a tank top, pants and a pair of boots. The shirt, pants, and boots were all a red so dark they looked black, and the sword hilt was covered in red and orange jewels. "Is this one yours?" he asked the wolf, earning confused stares from the four people surrounding them.

The wolf seemed to laugh at him. Then, to the shock of the three men, she spoke. "Not hardly. She's a good friend of mine. And I see you haven't changed a bit, Ran Fujimiya. Still trying to appear cold and uncaring," the wolf shook her head as she said that. "You're not," she continued. "Your brother is the dead one.

"Which, I suppose, is why you're here."

"Absolutely. Tell your humans to stay calm, I'm going to change now."

"You know, we CAN hear you," Ken said, annoyed. "I don't get why you called Aya Ran, that's not his name. And I don't know what you mean by 'change', but I can assure you that-" He broke off as the wolf began to change form. Less than a minute later, there was a white-haired girl in front of him. The blonde girl seemed to be holding her steady with her hand at the white-haired girl's shoulder. 

"AAHHH! A WEREWO-" Omi was cut off by Aya's hand over his mouth. Both girls glared at the human angrily.

"I am NOT a werewolf," the white-haired girl stated calmly. "I am a shape-shifter. My name's Hawari Jei, and this is a friend of mine, Kenshiki Gin. Now, who are you and why are you yelling at me?"

"Um…" For once, Ken was at a loss for words. However, when the wolf-girl growled slightly, he found his voice again. "Hello! Uh… I'm Ken Hidaka, the screamer is Omi Tsukiyono, and the blonde is Yohji Kudou. I guess you already know Aya, or Ran, or whatever his name is, even better than us. Omi was yelling because we've never heard of a shape-shifter who could turn into a wolf without being a werewolf."

"But Hawari? I thought you were a werew-" Kenshiki started before Hawari covered her mouth and smiled.

"Ignore her!" Hawari smiled.

"What was she saying, though?" Yohji asked. Hawari smiled again, but said nothing. Yohji continued to look at her. He was ready to give up when she looked up at Aya, saw his nod, and groaned.

"Fine," she sighed. "But only because he," she pointed her finger at Aya, "thinks you can handle it. By the way Ran, since I'm telling my story, you have to tell about your name." She waited for him to agree before continuing. "I am a werewolf, but not a normal one; I don't have a lust for blood, human or otherwise. As you can see, I can turn back and forth whenever I want to. I do have to change at the full moon, but I can change back within five minutes. Your turn, Ran."

The three men looked slightly dazed, but they accepted it. Mainly because Aya seemed to know and trust her. If it weren't for him, Kenshiki thought, those boys would be running home and getting the pitchforks. Hawari and Aya seemed to agree with that thought, because both of them sent many glances toward the men.

Hawari had to repeat herself twice more before Aya was willing to tell about his name, but he did eventually start. "It's really not important…" At Hawari's glare, he sighed and began. "I have three siblings: two sisters and a brother. My older sister, brother, and I are not exactly immortal, but we have a life span that's at least 100 times longer than a human's. Our little sister, Aya, was a normal human, and I got along better with her than with my other two siblings. When she was sixteen she got really sick, and a few years later she died. To remember her, I changed my name from Ran to Aya. That's all there is to it." Ken sniffled slightly when Aya finished. The djinn looked at him questioningly.

"It's sad and… and sweet," Ken shrugged.

~*~*~

To Be Continued!


	2. The End

"NO!!" Crawford yelled, punching the table. Hearing the yelling, Farfarello ran in. Schuldich didn't even blink as Farfarello walked through the wall he was leaning against. Now what's wrong? Schuldich asked in Crawford's head. The dark-haired man glared at him, but surprised Schuldich by answering. "Your brother is friends with the werewolf. He now has five guardians. Two of whom can fight."

Schuldich looked at his leader. The wizard was pacing back and forth in the kitchen, occasionally stopping to remove a knife from Farfarello's hand. "So we take out the werewolf. It's not that big a deal," Schuldich reasoned, returning to his position against the wall.

"Yes it is," Farfarello murmured, startling the other two. "A werewolf can only be killed by silver being forced through its heart at a fast speed." Crawford could only blink after the madman said that. How does HE know that? he thought to himself. "Well," the ghost-demon continued, "there is one other way, depending on the werewolf."

"What?" Schuldich asked, unable to contain his curiosity and knowing from experience that it was pointless to try and invade madman's mind thoughts. He had been unconscious for two days and had had a headache for almost a month afterwards.

"Separate it from its charm. When that happens, it become vulnerable to other things."

~*~*~

Ken watched the two girls with interest. The white-haired one, 

Hawari he reminded himself, was fiddling with something around her neck. "What's that?" he asked. She looked up, startled, and Kenshiki looked up from her conversation with Omi. She saw what Ken was asking about and returned her attention to debating whether milk tasted better if it came from a white cow with brown spots, or a brown cow with black spots.

"What?" Hawari asked, confused.

"Your necklace, Baka! He want's you to describe it."

"Oh," Hawari considered lying, but the look on Ken's face was too much. "It's my life charm," she told him. "It's what keeps me invulnerable to everything but silver." When he heard that, Ken's look of confusion grew.

"But if silver hurts you, how can you hold Aya's statue? And why is it shaped like that?" he asked, forehead scrunched in confusion.

She looked at the tear-shaped gem and smiled. "It's shaped like this because that's how I cut it. And for silver to hurt me, it has to be thrown through my heart. Quickly."

~*~*~

"So, are we going to take out the werewolf now, or are we going to wait?"

Crawford looked at his younger brother. The telekinetic was as excited as the rest of them. "Wait for Schuldich to return. Then we'll go."

~*~*~

"So water doesn't hurt you?"

"Only when I'm using my powers. Even then, all it does is drain my energy and put out any flames I've made." Kenshiki and Omi's conversation had eventually turned to more… normal topics after they had agreed that the white cow with black spots had the best-tasting milk. After they had gotten over the initial mistrust of one another, they became very good friends.

"Hello, Kitten," a silky voice called from across the clearing. Aya gasped and moved backward slightly. Standing at the edge of the clearing, just inside a line of trees, was an orange-haired man. His green shirt was wide open, flapping in the breeze. The evil glint in his green eyes made Omi shudder. Behind him stood two dark-haired men, both wearing blue. The older had on a knee-length robe, loose pants, and glasses. The younger wore a form-fitting, long-sleeve shirt and fitted pants. Both wore dark brown boots that matched perfectly with the first man's boots and tight pants. Beside them stood a pale man with white hair and a yellow eye. His left eye was hidden by a black eyepatch. He wore a blue, sleeveless shirt and black pants. His boots were a grayish-black. Everything that visible on him was covered in scars. He had a slightly surprised expression on his face.

"Hello Farfarello," Hawari said, her voice cold. Kenshiki was shocked; she had never heard her friend's voice sound so emotionless. "It's been awhile, Brother. Since you killed our parents, correct?"

That comment shocked everyone but the white-haired people. "The werewolf is your SISTER?!?" Nagi screeched. Schuldich winced, but for once he didn't say anything.

"Touching reunion," Crawford cut in sarcastically. "But we're here for the djinn. Give him to us and we'll leave." The oracle had already seen how the meeting would end, but it was still worth a try. Besides, whether that gave him the djinn or not, they would have to die.

"You can have him," Kenshiki announced, surprising everyone. "But only," she continued, "over my dead body!" Crawford began getting worried. The werewolf had been the one to speak in his vision, and she had something entirely different. He calmed down when he realized that it had changed; his brother would not die by the girl's hand.

When he smiled, the two girls ran forward. Crawford was shocked when the werewolf, now in her animal form, was able to bite Farfarello. He only had time to assume it was because they were related before the other girl attacked him. 

After twenty minutes, Nagi was finally concentrating enough to lift the two girls, the djinn, and the three humans into the air. His teammates were all breathing heavily, and they were covered in cuts and scrapes. Farfarello looked like he might be missing a finger, and would most likely keep his forehead covered from then on since it looked like it had been scratched beyond repair. Nagi had had his teammates surrounding him, so all he had to show for the fight was a minor cut on the back of his hand. "Now it's no fun!" Schuldich whined, watching their opponents struggling to move. "They can't even try to fight back anymore!"

"Oh well," Farfarello hissed, beginning to laugh as he walked up to his sister. She had changed back to her human form while Schuldich had been complaining. Hawari's eyes widened when Farfarello ripped off her necklace and pulled out a knife. "Goodbye," he whispered. Before anyone even saw him lift the knife, the girl was dead. Nagi let her body drop from his hold.

Kenshiki screamed, beginning to break the telekinetic's hold on her. As she fell from his grasp, she pulled out her sword. Crawford smirked at the sight of the dagger-length blade. "Do you think that little thing will hurt us?" he asked her. Kenshiki smiled at him and thrust her power into the blade.

Schuldich's eyes widened when he saw the result. The blade of the girl's dagger had grown to twice the size of her body, and the blade was a long flame. She swung the flaming sword a few times experimentally before lunging at Farfarello.

She managed to burn not only Farfarello, but Schuldich, Crawford, and Nagi as well. Farfarello's burns were only on his hands, since he turned made them solid in order to hold the knives. The other three got burned when they didn't step back soon enough or far enough. They also got burned when the sparks crackled off the sword. After a few moments of fighting, Schuldich, Nagi, and Crawford were able to hold her still long enough for Farfarello to reach her neck. Kenshiki managed a mangled scream before her body went limp. Farfarello waited until he was sure she was dead to drop her, but when he did the djinn and the three men were able to free themselves.

Yohji immediately jumped at Crawford, not really knowing what he was doing, but trying anyway. Nagi and Farfarello began fighting Omi and Ken while Schuldich moved toward Aya. Crawford hit Yohji in the temple, knocking the blonde out. Omi and Ken were barely holding on to consciousness when their opponents backed away.

They looked up and saw Aya struggling in the grip of the other redhead. "Let go! Schuldich!" His captors ignored the djinn's threats and yelling.

"I've got him," Schuldich announced to the others, wincing as one of Aya's heels connected with his shin. "Now let's go!" The four people and the djinn disappeared. Ken saw Omi pass out and quickly followed.

~*~*~

"Let me GO!"

"What's wrong, Little Brother?" Schuldich asked the djinn. "Aren't you glad to see me? It's been… hmm… since Atlantis sank. Did you miss me?" His only answer was Aya spitting in his face. "You little-"

"Calm down, Schuldich," Crawford ordered, walking into the room. "He'll have plenty of time to learn manners. It's not like those fools will save him." He grabbed Aya's chin and forced him to make eye contact. "Will they?"

"It has nothing to do with whether or not they come," Nagi informed them from his position on the windowsill. "Even if they do come, it's not like this part of the world will be around much longer. He and Schuldich will destroy it."

~*~*~

"Argh… what happened?" Yohji mumbled. He sat up and rubbed his head. When he looked around he realized he was still in the forest. He also saw Ken and Omi looking at something on the forest floor. Ken looked ill and Omi was crying. "What's wrong?" Yohji asked as he moved toward them.

They moved out of the way to let him see what they were looking at. In front of him were three objects. Lying next to a rock was Kenshiki's dagger/sword, Hawari's broken necklace, and Aya's forgotten statue. A few feet away lay Kenshiki's body, and just beyond that was Hawari's. Yohji looked around quickly, noticing that something was very wrong.

"Where's Aya?"

Ken and Omi looked at each other. "You tell," they said at the same time. They began arguing, and Yohji didn't have the energy to break it up and demand an explanation yet. He continued to look around the clearing recently used as a battleground. Only the bodies and blood gave away what had just happened. Finally, Ken cleared his throat.

"They got him," the brunette whispered slowly. Yohji looked up from the dirt and moss quickly, worried. "You had been knocked out, and me and Omi were close. When we looked up that other redhead, Schuldich, had him. They just disappeared. I don't know what they'll do with him, but…"

"That's simple," a female voice interrupted. The three men looked up to see a redheaded woman standing a few feet away. She was wearing a red velvet gown with gold trim and red shoes. Her bright hair, almost as bright as Aya's, curled sharply around her face. "They will use him to destroy the world. If Ran and Schuldich are together for too long, their fighting will destroy this planet a bit at a time."

"Ran… Ran… Oh! You mean Aya?" Yohji asked.

The woman paused for a moment before nodding her head. "I keep forgetting that he's going by her name now." The woman looked at them seriously. "It will be up to you to get Ran back."

"Why can't you?" Ken stood up. "And why do you call him 'Ran' if you know he's going by Aya?"

"I call him Ran because that's what I called him starting the day he was born. And if I get involved in my brothers' quarrels, there will be no hope. Please, say you'll get Ran out of there!"

They all agreed, wondering if they had any choice in the matter. Not only was the world at stake, but Aya was already considered a good friend.

~*~*~

"Yohji?" The blonde looked up, hearing his name. His father was sitting in an armchair waiting for him. Crap! Yohji thought. I forgot all about our little 'talk'. "Who was that this morning?"

"Oh…" Yohji breathed a sigh of relief. "He was a friend. He climbed in through the window. Sorry, I'll have him use the door next time. DoyoumindifKen,me,andOmi campintheforestthenextcoupleofnights? I'llguardthemIpromise!" 

"What?" Yohji's father knew from past experience that no amount of filtering would help him understand his son when he spoke that fast.

"Uh… sorry. Do you mind if me, Ken, and Omi camp in the forest for the next couple of nights? I'll guard them, I promise!" After considering for a few seconds, the spy nodded. He threw in the 'Be careful' that is required by all parents before Yohji left the room.

When he got to the waterfall, Ken and Omi had arrived as well. The woman, who they had learned was a sorceress named Manx, had cleaned the aftermath of the battle. The two graves next to the stream were covered in flowers; one headstone held a broken necklace with a tear-shaped gem, and the other had a sword hilt pushed up from the mound.

"Are you ready?" Manx asked after Yohji had set down his gear. The three men smiled grimly and nodded. "Good. The first thing you need to know is how to hit…"

~*~*~

"If you touch me again…!"Aya left his threat hanging. He Knew Schuldich understood exactly what he was saying. How sweet! You'll cut off my head with your sword and then give it to Farfie for a toy? And then marinate the rest of my body in my own blood? You're beginning to get gruesome. Good! Schuldich smiled at the expression on Aya's face as he repeated the thoughts in the djinn's head.

Schuldich left the room and turned into the hallway. Nagi and Crawford looked at him, and both seemed to be waiting for something. "What?" Schuldich asked. Crawford only glared at him. "Fine. He'll be ready soon. We can't start now; his plan to kill me is still too quick."

"How soon until he's ready?"

"One week at most."

~*~*~

Ken dropped onto the couch, groaning. "I didn't know it was possible to get this tired!" From across the room, Omi gave him a weak, sympathetic smile and a half-hearted wave. They had been training almost nonstop for the past three days. Yohji had gone back to the town to ask if they could 'camp-out' for another couple of days, leaving the younger two with Manx.

The training was easiest on Yohji, who had been raised by a spy. Part of his routine when he was younger had been to train with his father. He found the training with Manx to be a way of finally putting his earlier training to use.

Ken and Omi found the work harder. They had both been raised in aristocratic homes, so they had never had to work so hard. The closest Ken had come to the amount of exercise required was when he had been playing sports.

All three of them had chosen a weapon for their fight against Aya's kidnappers. Yohji had a long metal wire, Ken had metal claws, and Omi had darts, a crossbow, and arrows. When they trained with their weapons, they worked hard to hit their 'opponent' (a wooden stump or a large rock) without hurting themselves. Manx helped them the entire time and told them that they were improving rapidly.

Ken looked up as Yohji entered the cave, whistling. He dropped a few loaves of bread and some fruit in a corner of the cave before turning to look at his friends. "We need a name." Ken and Omi could only look at him after he said that.

"Okay…" Omi said, confused. "Why?"

"Because," Yohji answered. "Manx said that those guys that took Aya are called Schwarz. We need a name, too!" Ken groaned as he stood up and left the cave. Omi and Yohji followed quietly.

"How about…" Ken trailed off as he looked around at the forest. His gaze stopped at the two crosses next to the stream. The sun had already bleached the wood white. "Weiss Kreuz," he finally finished. Omi smiled at him and Yohji grinned.

"Perfect!"

~*~*~

"Well?"

"He's shut me out of his head. It won't be long now," Schuldich answered, tossing a key to the wizard. The other man caught it and smiled; they had had to start chaining Schuldich's brother to a pillar in the center of them after he had tried to escape the 100th time. Crawford looked at the redhead in front of him and smirked; he knew Schuldich hated it when people kept him out of their heads. Only one thing would have made his day better. What thing? 

"Stay out of my head, Schuldich," Crawford growled. He put up his mental shields before continuing his thought. I haven't had a vision since we got the djinn. Why? Not being able to see the future frustrated him to no end.

"Why what?" Nagi asked, walking into the room. Crawford had been so frustrated that he had accidentally said the last word out loud. Farfarello followed the boy slowly, grinning maniacally. Crawford shook his head and turned to walk away. "Is it just me, or is he telling us more these days?" Nagi asked sarcastically as he brushed past the telepath. Farfarello went through him, laughing as Schuldich grimaced.

~*~*~

"Tonight." Weiss looked up when Manx said that one word. Suddenly all their training didn't feel like it was enough. They were still going, though.

"We will get him out of there," Yohji promised the sorceress.

~*~*~

**_BOOM!!!_**

Nagi jumped at the loud sound. Farfarello passed through his room, cackling insanely. Nagi shrugged mentally as he ran toward the source of the sound. When he reached the area he stopped in shock.

Where the western side of the Crawford had once stood was a pile of debris and rubble. Standing in the middle of it was two redheads, facing each other and glaring. The smaller of the two was chained at his hands and feet to one of the room's support beams; it was still holding up the second story of the mansion in that area. Schuldich was smirking slightly, watching Aya try to twist out of his bonds, and his amethyst eyes had hardened to a cold gleam. Crawford was standing in what had once been a doorway, a cold smile on his face. Farfarello had begun jumping through the rubble like the madman he was.

Nagi was surprised when he looked up and saw three figures coming toward them through the dust. The leader was a tall man in a dark green shirt and tan pants; he had a wire coiled loosely around his arm. The man behind him was shorter and had dark brown hair, a red shirt, and brown pants; strapped to each of his hands was a metal claw. The shortest member of their group had short, blondish-brown hair, a blue shirt, and white pants. All he seemed to have for a weapon was an empty crossbow.

When the other group reached the destroyed building a bolt of lightning touched the ground between Schuldich and Aya. "Oh look!" Schuldich sneered. "My brother's little friends have arrived to try and save him." Aya didn't turn or make any move to indicate that he heard, but Weiss had a feeling that he had known of their presence before Nagi looked up.

There was a sudden crash of thunder, and it began to rain. "If you give Aya to us," the tall man said, "we will leave without a fight."

"Ah… why should we do that?" Schuldich asked. "Fighting is fun!" As if to prove his point he hit Aya in the stomach, the force of the punch sending the djinn through the pillar and across the 'room'. He landed in a crumpled heap at Yohji's feet. Ken extended his claws and stepped forward. Omi's eyes narrowed while Yohji knelt over Aya.

Aya moved slightly and looked up. Yohji picked him up gently and held him in one arm. With his other arm, he uncoiled the wire a few feet. Schuldich and Crawford stepped toward Weiss; both were angry. .Farfarello jumped at Ken, his knives held out.

Ken slashed at Farfarello, managing to hit the ghost-demon's hands. Farfarello looked stunned for a moment, but he grinned again before Ken could think he had seriously wounded his opponent. The madman was preparing to lunge again when he suddenly dropped, a small metal tube protruding from his arm. Ken managed a quick smile at Omi before Crawford ran up.

Schuldich made his fight against Yohji easier on the human by constantly changing back and forth into his lynx form. He was tiring quickly when Yohji, using his wire as a whip, caught his arm. Omi's second dart hit the shape-shifter in the shoulder. Schuldich fell, leaving only Nagi and Crawford. Nagi was caught between Yohji and Omi and was hit in the back by two more of Omi's darts.

"You killed him!" Crawford yelled, watching as the telekinetic hit the ground. Weiss formed a sort of triangle around him, Aya still held in Yohji's left arm. 

"No, they were all just tranquilized," Omi corrected, aiming his cow-loaded crossbow at the wizard. Crawford avoided the shot and the next five attacks. Then Weiss decided to try another approach. Even with his ability to see the future, he was unable to avoid attacks from all three men at once. After he was hit and knocked unconscious, Weiss left, leaving Schwarz where they lay.

~*~*~

"So, how is he?"

Manx looked at the three men standing in front of her and smiled. "Thanks to you he'll be fine. Keeping from fighting Schuldich for so long used up a lot of his energy." All three men breathed a sigh of relief. They had only known him for less that a day before he was taken, but during the four days that they had been training and the next week waiting for him to wake up, they had all grown attached to the djinn.

When they walked around the waterfall and into the cave, they saw Aya sitting up on the cough and waiting for them. Yohji and Omi immediately began talking to him. Ken reached into his pocket and pulled out Aya's statue. He had had it since the day the djinn was taken, but had never gotten a chance to really look at it. The silvery glow was faded and even the gems looked duller. . It looked as if it was becoming a normal statue instead of a djinn's housing.

"I wish you were human," Ken whispered softly. There was a bright flash of purple light, which blinded everyone in the room. "Oops."

"What did you do?" Yohji demanded once he could see. Ken's face was pale and his eyes were wide. He was about to answer when Aya spoke.

"He granted my wish." Three heads turned toward the source of the raspy, and still slightly weak, voice. They were all more than a little confused. "I can't grant my own wishes," Aya informed them. "So it never hurts for me to wish for something. The statue got duller every time I wish to be normal. Then Ken wished it for me." The redhead smiled at him, thanking him without saying anything.

"So… now you're a normal twenty-year-old?" Omi asked.

"Yes."

"So who's going to be your legal guardian?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well… you'll need a guardian, at least until you get used to being a human. Who will it be?"

"Me," Manx answered, walking up to the couch. "I don't mind taking care of my little brother. Not this one, at least."

~*~*~

"Hey Aya!"

The former djinn turned at the sound of his name and saw Ken speeding toward him. The brunette looked excited about something, but he wouldn't say what. He grabbed Aya's arm and began to drag him toward the waterfall.

"What? Where are we going? WHY are we going…?"

"You'll see!" Ken was barely able to contain his excitement. Hopefully Aya would like the surprise.

The clearing around the waterfall was empty when Ken and Aya reached it. Without any thought Ken reached up and covered Aya's eyes. He began to walk toward the cave before the redhead could form a protest. They finally entered and Ken removed his hand.

"SURPRISE!!!" Aya jumped when the four people said that. The cave had been decorated for a party, and Manx, Ken, Yohji, and Omi all looked very pleased with themselves. 

"What?"

Manx laughed as she walked up and hugged him. "They felt bad for missing your birthday, so they decided to throw you a surprise party. I found out and wanted to help. Happy birthday!" Aya could only smile as he looked around at his family. After they had risked their lives to save someone they barely knew, Aya knew that the three men who had found him were more than just friends. The five people spent the next seven hours in the forest.

~*~*~

"It is over. The djinn has become human, and the world is safe." The cloaked figure's face softened as he moved toward the door.

"Where are you going Persia?" Manx asked as she followed him.

The man turned to her and began to smile. "I am going to get my son. Reiji has had him for too long. Besides, you should get back to your brother now." The two people walked out of the room and to their respective families.

~ The End ~

Nightwitch: So, did you like it?

Omi: You made it sound like me and Ken were gay!

Night: Did not!

Ken: 'And then Omi smiled and waved at him.' That's not gay?

Night: No, that's being good friends.

Nagi: I was barely involved.

Night: I didn't know you when I wrote this.

Hawari: What about us? Did you create us just to kill us?

Kenshiki: Yeah!

Crawford & Schuldich: We were beaten by Weiss.

Yohji: You had me acting like a little kid around my 'father'.

Night: Screw this! None of you had romantic feelings for one another. The characters I created were created to die, Yohji did not act like a kid, and I know you got beaten. This is a Weiss fic, not a Schwarz fic. C'mon, Aya and Farfie! We're going to Disneyland. 

(To one of my friends: Okay, I got Disneyland in there. Happy?)

A/N: So, did you like? Hate? Please review and let me know! By the way, Nagi is talking about the extinction of the dinosaurs and Atlantis when he talks about the different family reunions.


End file.
